warrior godfather

Chapter 304
It took a while for Buford to react. He looked at Leonard who came up to the stage to shake hands with David Stern in astonishment, with a dull expression.

Leonard was cut off by the king!
And according to the news I got, Petri favored Bismarck Biyombo, how could he choose Leonard... Wait!
A light flashed in Buford's mind, because the Warriors picked Bismarck with the third pick?Or, is this what the Warriors chose for the King?
Therefore, Coach Z didn't fancy Biyombo's potential. The Warriors' choice is actually not abnormal at all, it's just part of their deal!

Buford took a deep breath and suppressed the irritability and anger in his heart. The top priority is not to find out why the king cut off the beard. This will be clear soon after the draft. What he needs to do now is to adjust draft plan.

Buford picked up his cell phone, dialed Popovich, and said solemnly:
"Greg, there was a change in our plan. Leonard was selected by the Kings in advance at the 7th pick, and the Warriors used the 3rd pick to select Biyombo, who Petrie valued. I suspect this is the king and the Warriors. Trade, we have to change our plans."

There was silence on the other end of the phone for a while, and then Popovich's slightly sighing voice sounded:
"It's a good trick to hide from the sky. Since there is no Leonard, then we will follow the original plan and add a wing player at the end of the first round, and the transaction with the Pacers will be suspended."

"I see." Buford nodded.

Afterwards, he quickly contacted Larry Bird to inform him of the Spurs' decision.

The draft progressed very quickly. When Buford put down his phone, the Rockets, holding the No. 14 pick, had already selected. They picked Marcus Morris. In the previous pick, the Clippers selected Marcus Morris. Keefe Morris, the two brothers were selected one after another in the first round, which is also a good story.

Next, the Pacers chose Reggie Jackson with the 15th pick, which surprised Buford. Reggie Jackson's forecast market was after the 20th pick, but the Pacers chose him in the top 15 picks.

The subsequent first-round picks were not unexpected to Buford. As one rookie was selected, when it was the Spurs’ No. 29 pick, all potential rookies had already been selected. Buford followed the According to Popovich's advice, he chose Jordan Hamilton, who is the most promising wing striker among the remaining rookies.

With the Bulls selecting Kyle Singler with the No. 30 pick, the first round of the draft was declared over, and the second round came next, and Buford's attention shifted accordingly.

The Spurs' second-round pick is also very late. At the 59th pick, Buford has no expectations for it.

He began to use his contacts to contact the insiders of the Kings and the Warriors. Soon, he got accurate news that the Warriors and the Kings had completed a deal, using the No. No. sign.

"Coach Z..." Buford put down his phone and sighed softly.

The Spurs' draft plan was completely disrupted by Zhang Yu.

Watching the Kings select Chandler Parsons with the No. 35 pick, Buford narrowed his eyes again. He knew very well that this was Coach Z's favorite rookie.

Finally, it was the Spurs' turn at No. 59, and Buford picked Adam Hungao, a shooting guard, at random.

This is a pure lottery draw, and being able to fall into this pick shows that Adam Honggao has almost no potential. Buford bought a Powerball. If he wins the lottery, he is lucky. If he does not win the lottery, it is normal.

After the Spurs, the Kings chose Isaiah Thomas, a guard whose name is only one letter away from the legend.

"A 5-foot-9 guard? Coach Z thinks he can be the second Nate Robinson?" Buford whispered slightly surprised.

He also pays attention to this short guard. Isaiah Thomas can participate in the draft with a height of 1 meters. His athletic ability is very strong and his skills are also very good. Otherwise, he would not be able to lead the University of Washington to win the Pacific Ten Schools League. champion.

The Pacific Ten Schools League is an old NCAA league. The strength of each school is strong. The famous UCLA is also a member of it. Isaiah Thomas' performance is very valuable.

But his gorgeous data and brilliant resume are insignificant in front of the 5-foot-9-inch height. No one believes that Thomas can gain a foothold in the league. There is only one Nate Robinson, and there is only one bug Boggs.

"It seems that Coach Z is going to make mistakes again. First, there are Chinese guards, and then there are short guards who are less than 6 feet tall. Does Coach Z like taking risks so much? Even Stephen Curry is a point guard in the unconventional sense..." Buford's inner thoughts surged, as if he had grasped Coach Z's habit of selecting people.

He likes to take the edge of the sword!
It seems that we can start from this aspect in the future to predict the Warriors' draft.

Buford nodded slightly and made an inference, but this will not be put into practice until the next draft.

……

"Ronan, if Reggie Jackson doesn't have as much potential as you said, I won't let you go!" In the VIP box where Zhang Yu was, Larry Bird held Zhang Yu's hand and joked with a smile.

"Don't worry, as long as you are patient enough and give Reggie Jackson two years, he will realize his potential." Zhang Yu smiled, and then said, "I heard that a deal between you and the Spurs fell through?"

Byrd said lightly:
"Buford wants to use George Hill as a bargaining chip, let me help them pick Kawhi Leonard, you know, we already have Danny and Paul, don't need a wing, but need a guy who can handle the ball Guard. But Leonard was cut off by the Kings, and this deal can only fall through."

Zhang Yu nodded slowly, and said casually:
"Actually, I let the king pick Leonard off."

Byrd shrank his pupils, turned his head to look at Larry Riley next to him, and scolded with a smile:
"No wonder you called me to inquire about our draft plan, and I even revealed it to you!"

His tone was slightly dissatisfied, as if he didn't expect to be tricked by Larry Riley.

Before the start of the draft, Zhang Yu went back to Butler University. By the way, he and Stevens visited Bird. The three had a meal together.

During the dinner, Bird asked Zhang Yu if he had any recommended players at the 15th pick. Zhang Yu's heart moved, and he recommended Reggie Jackson to him, and Bird would use the 15th pick to pick Ray, who was ranked after the 20th pick. Ji Jackson.

Zhang Yu just smiled lightly and said:

"It's a good thing that you didn't trade with the Spurs. Reggie Jackson's potential is not comparable to that of George Hill. He will be a high-quality starting point guard in the future, and his age is similar to Paul George, which is perfect for the Pacers. Rebuild the schedule and trust me, you can't go wrong with him."

Byrd laughed:

"It was because I believed in your vision that I told Larry about the Pacers' draft plan. Otherwise, how could I have revealed such important news? Actually, when Buford asked me to discuss a deal, I became suspicious. , His vision has always been very accurate, Leonard is definitely not that simple, but we have Paul and Danny, there is no room to train a small forward, so I didn't care."

"I am very optimistic about George Hill, but I believe in your judgment even more. George Hill has not played much in the past three years with the Spurs. It is better to train a rookie from scratch, but my original plan was to take George Hill to the Spurs. After all, Reggie Jackson's predicted pick is after 20th, and he can earn some second-round picks, but I didn't expect Leonard to be cut off by you, so I simply chose Reggie Jackson directly."

After listening to his explanation, Zhang Yu said in surprise:
"The No. 15 pick was almost out of your hands."

Byrd sighed softly:
"A small team like ours, compared with the Warriors, has to be careful and careful to live, but you struck too fast and too hard, and the time you gave me was too short. The deal that was originally negotiated was forced to be cancelled. After reaching the 20th pick, the team that wants to trade up the draft pick can only use the 15th pick to directly select someone, which is still a loss..."

Zhang Yu smiled and said:
"Well, next time you come to the Bay Area, I'll treat you to dinner. If you have any trading needs in the future, you can contact Larry."

Byrd nodded and said:
"Then I would like to thank you in advance. The Pacers will be the Warriors' allies in the future. If there is any news in the trading market, I will inform you in time."

The two reached out their hands again, held each other, and smiled at each other.

The NBA is a business, and it needs business partners. Many teams are inextricably linked.

For example, Celtics star Danny Ainge, when he was the general manager of the Suns, he made several trades that were criticized. Now.

Later, Danny Ainge returned to the Celtics as the general manager, which seemed to verify something from the side.

It is easy for such a celebrity in the player period to transform into a manager or coach to develop contacts in the league and help the team he is or has been in.

And relying on the good relationship between Zhang Yu and Bird, the Warriors and Pacers also have the possibility to become "allies" and carry out some mutually beneficial cooperation in the future.

But such a relationship usually occurs between teams in different divisions that have no direct competitive relationship. If the Warriors and Pacers were in the same division, Bird would definitely not listen to what Zhang Yu said.

Afterwards, the two talked about the draft, and Bird asked curiously:

"Don't the Warriors already have Jimmy Butler? You even traded with the No. 3 pick to pick Leonard. He has so much potential?"

Zhang Yu smiled slightly and said:

"I never have too many strikers who can defend. This year is a young year in the draft. There are no good choices. I will bet on Leonard's talent. You know, he was a defensive champion in college. Base Lilenko has decided not to renew his contract with us, I must increase the strength and hardness of the striker."

Byrd nodded slightly:

"Draymond Green, Jimmy Butler, Kawhi Leonard... Well, Danny Green and Yi, they are also doing well, no wonder you said the Warriors will win the championship next season, if they fulfill their potential, You really have a chance."

Zhang Yu shook his head:

"Opportunity? I don't know if I can play next season. When will I start playing?"

"You mean, the labor negotiations will break down and the league will be shut down?" Byrd's expression froze.

"Of course, do you expect the league to negotiate with the players' association? Think about what happened in 98. The lockout is inevitable, but I don't know how long it will be." Zhang Yu said.

Bird raised his hand and touched his chin, as if he was thinking about something, and said slowly:

"Is this a good thing for the Warriors? The lockout just allows the Warriors' rookies to have enough time to practice and digest the experience gained from the playoffs. If the next season is not canceled, the intensive schedule can give full play to the physical strength of young players." Advantages... Huh? You said that you will win the championship next season, have you already taken the lockout into consideration?"

He looked at Zhang Yu with great interest, as if he had discovered some secret.

Zhang Yu smiled, neither admitted nor denied:

"Don't talk nonsense, I'm the owner of the Warriors, how can I expect the league to stop?"

"Hehe, is that so..." Bird smiled playfully, but his expression became more determined, "No matter what, it seems that the lockout is really coming. This is the best opportunity for the Warriors. If necessary, I can replace the last lockout. Let me tell you from experience, although the league stipulates that teams and players must not touch, there are still many ways to circumvent these restrictions."

"Oh? I would like to hear more about it." Zhang Yu's eyes lit up and he looked at Byrd.

Byrd said:

"First of all, you have to make sure that your player is on your side. If he reveals the private contact between the team and him, then you will face a very unfavorable situation. Both labor and management will condemn you. Of course, I don't think this is a problem for you. Secondly, how to let the players train. You must know that during the lockout, the team has no right to supervise the players' physical condition and training equipment. Many people have experienced a sharp decline. There are a lot of stars…”

In the box, Bird narrated, Zhang Yu listened carefully, nodding from time to time, his eyes became brighter and brighter.

After the draft, the turmoil caused by labor negotiations intensified.

On June 6, members of the NBA Council met in Dallas and listened to a report on labor negotiations by the Chairman of the Labor Relations Committee and Spurs owner Pete Holt.

According to the local media in San Antonio, they got a very bad news from an NBA team general manager who is familiar with the league's strategy: If the lockout, the deadlock will be more difficult to break.

Once the league announces the suspension, they will require players to accept a hard salary cap of 4500 million US dollars, cancel the guarantee contract, and require players to take a 33% salary cut.And their previous concessions - including a flexible hard salary cap of US$6200 million and a guaranteed total salary of US$20 billion per year - were not discussed, which made the situation of labor negotiations even worse.

On June 6, after two and a half hours of negotiations between labor and management in New York, the two sides officially confirmed that they could not reach an agreement. The NBA league officially stopped at midnight on July 30!

　It will be updated normally at night, ask for a monthly ticket, a recommended ticket~
　　
　
(End of this chapter)